EAST GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Ten years ago, home builder Joel Peterson said he would not have shown off a Parade of Homes entry in a 100-year-old neighborhood while building a $589,000 house on speculation across the street.

But today’s new home buyers want to live in a walkable neighborhood close to the city, says Peterson.

2013 FALL PARADE OF HOMES

• Homes will be open for viewing from 1 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
• A list and map of the homes can be found at http://www.mygrhome.com/paradeofhomes/.
• Tickets may be purchased at Option One Credit Union branches, the Home Builders Association of Greater Grand Rapids office, online at www.myGRhome.com, and at homes on the tour.
• Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10 or for $12 at the homes. Children under 12 are admitted free.

The owner of J. Peterson Homes is among an emerging breed of builders who are buying older smaller homes in traditional neighborhoods and replacing them with new “infill” houses that boast the latest amenities.

The parade homes are open to the public beginning Friday, Oct. 4 and continuing through Oct. 19. Homes are open for touring Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 1 p.m. until 8 p.m..

The 36 entries include $150,000 entry-level homes to multi-million dollar homes along Lake Michigan near South Haven. They are scattered in 11 different communities including, Ada, Allendale, Belmont, Byron Center, Caledonia, East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Hudsonville, Rockford, South Haven, and Wyoming.

“It’s an interesting mix,” said Emily Siebert, the home builders' executive officer. With home sales picking up, she said several homes that were scheduled for the tour were pulled from the event as they sold.

This year’s parade features a larger variety of architecture, from ultra-modern designs to more traditional styles. Four of the homes can be toured virtually through the association’s web site.

At Peterson’s blue-and-white Dutch Colonial, visitors are offered the best of both worlds – traditional architecture on the outside and modern amenities indoors.

From the street, the house fits in with the surrounding homes, some of which were built more than 100 years ago on the edge of the Gaslight Village shopping district.

The driveway winds around a massive oak tree that Peterson estimates is at least 225 years old, leading to a 2½-stall garage sited at the back of the 50-foot by 135-foot lot.

When Peterson bought the lot, it was occupied by a 900-square-foot rental house that he tore down.

Visitors who enter the new home from its traditional wide-pillared front porch are welcomed by a contemporary great room and kitchen that encompasses most of the main floor.

“You don’t have the formal living room and dining room that nobody uses,” said Peterson, adding that the house easily accommodated 150 guests for a pre-Parade of Homes party.

The home’s 3,200 square feet of living space takes advantage of every square inch to make the house feel like a million-dollar home “just in a smaller package,” Peterson said.

The front part of the great room room features a limestone fireplace, a built-in television next to the fireplace and a small built-in writing desk. A dining area separates the seating area from the kitchen, where an island with a quartz countertop creates a gathering spot for meals.

Lighting fixtures, ceiling finishes and wall hangings separate the kitchen, dining and living areas in the great room, which has white oak flooring with a soft tung oil finish.
Behind the great room, there’s an informal den with a corrugated steel ceiling that leads to a back porch and overlooks a concrete patio in the backyard.

Upstairs, there are three bedrooms, including a master suite with a walk-in closet and bathroom with a large walk-in shower. The front of the master bedroom takes advantage of the home’s gambrel roof by creating a seating area with a cathedral ceiling.

In the basement, there are 9-foot ceilings and large windows to light up the recreational area, which includes a surround-sound system for the large-screen television. The bedroom in the basement includes a large egress window that belies its sub-surface status.

Behind the walls and in the ceilings, there’s extra insulation to keep the house warm and quiet. A high efficiency furnace with three heating zones will keep the heating bills below $200 a month in the deep of winter, Peterson said.

Beneath the surface, there’s a sophisticated drainage system aimed at eliminating the wet basements and flooding problems that bedevils many East Grand Rapids homeowners. That approach extends to the backyard and driveway, which have been groomed and sculpted to promote stormwater runoff.

Peterson isn’t the only home builder who is buying up old houses and replacing them with new high-end homes. Two similar projects are underway one block over. He’s planning to start a similar project on San Lu Rae Drive SE later this year.

“This is pretty incredible, to have a 100-year-old neighborhood and four new houses being built in a one-block area,” Peterson said.